The Bird and the Beast (sometimes abbreviated as BnB) was the second world event, which started on 11 December2013 and ended on 21 January2014, after six weeks of battle. The event featured the gods Armadyl and Bandos fighting over weapons of mass destruction atop towers that they had aimed at the opposing god, in addition to caravans all across Misthalin and Asgarnia that could be raided by players. The Godless interfered with this world event, sending members to ambush the gods' troops.

Unlike the first world event, the Battle of Lumbridge, the loser of the conflict died. Divination played a role in this world event and safe PvP conflict was available. Wilderness skirmish events remained dangerous, where players could lose items if they died. The benefits of enabling PvP included increased renown, more experience, faster construction of buildings and Heroic skulls. The heroic skulls were a possible drop from killing a worthy opponent in PvP, and could be buried at the faction tower for a chunk of Prayer experience. Players were also able to build golems.

Both Armadyl and Bandos turned to the newly discovered skill of Divination, planning to use weapons of mass destruction powered by divine energy to kill their rival, with Bandos calling his weapon the Scarecrow, and Armadyl calling his the Divine Focus. To gather energy, they sent out caravans of their followers to sites to key places around Asgarnia and Misthalin to find the energy and bring it back to their mighty towers, and gathered followers to claim and defend these sites as well as the caravans.

The result of the Divine Focus's blast.

After six weeks of battle, Armadyl and his followers were able to fully charge the Divine Focus, and used it to fire a blast at Bandos, which completely destroyed his tower and decapitated him. Armadyl then came to inspect Bandos's corpse, took his discarded mace and used it to smash what little remained of Bandos. Satisfied, he then took the mace with him and he and his followers left, with Bandos's remaining followers doing the same.

At the start of the event, members could gather 30,000 renown daily, while free-to-play players could gather only up to 14,000 each day. On 5 January, at the start of the sixth phase, the renown limit was increased to 45,000 per day for members and 21,000 per day for free-to-play players. The remaining daily limit was displayed via "Remaining energy" in the war HUD.

Unlike the Battle of Lumbridge where battle was confined to the Lumbridge crater, this event involved 14 sites, scattered around in the free-to-play game. Each site could be occupied by any faction, and occupied sites were localised on each world and not shared for all worlds.

After occupying a site, several types of buildings could be built. However, the buildings could only be built on neutral sites. When a building was first constructed, it was at 10% health. All players could then increase the health of the building to 100%, and enemies could damage the building to 0%, destroying it and turning the site neutral. To rebuild a recently destroyed building, players had to wait 10 minutes to rebuild at that site. However, the enemy could immediately build at that site. Players had 20 minutes to complete a building, otherwise it reverted back to the empty neutral site. Players could also vote to re-purpose a building into another type, each vote lasting 2 minutes.

Building interface choosing the building to build.

Players earned Construction experience and renown whenever they successfully added or removed health from any building. All players who worked to build a building until completion, or tear one down until destruction, received renown. 5 renown was awarded each time an action is performed; this was doubled to 10 renown per action when PvP mode was enabled, which meant it took 21 minutes of work for a f2p to use all their energy and 45 minutes for a member. The Constructor's outfit, Sculpting chisel, Wisdom or Festive Aura could be used to gain additional experience. The Two-leaf clover necklace also provided an experience boost, and did not lose charges from working on construction sites.

All completed buildings could be teleported to, by using the War map item or from the War map in the ground floor of the faction tower.

Name

Bandosian

Armadylean

Build time

Duration

Purpose

Faction Banner

6 minutes

2:00 hours

Site became occupied by this faction faster as this is quick to build. There were no additional benefits.

Spider Hole

10 minutes

1:30 hours

Ambushers appeared from the spider hole and attack bodyguards of the enemy convoys and then the caravan units themselves. Or if a friendly convoy passed, extra bodyguards appeared to defend it.

Combat Monolith

11 minutes

1:20 hours

Gave a buff to friendly players. Buff was activated when a player came within 7 squares of the building, and lasted for 30 seconds. It was automatically renewed if they remained within 7 squares of the building. The buff healed the player when dealing PvP damage with the restoration capped at 200.

Divining Siphon

12 minutes

1:10 hours

Increased the gather rate by 10-25% for friendly convoys, and 10-15% of divine energy from enemy convoys was siphoned into the faction score.

Player and NPC killing was only possible within PvP areas, which are around the building sites and denoted on the ground by red double lines. These areas were safe, meaning players did not lose any items upon death. To enable player killing, PvP mode had to be enabled. This could be done by using the PvP board outside the faction tower, or by opening the Adventures tab (F3 by default, and the compass icon). The PvP board also listed significant kills by the top 15 players, and the players' kill/death ratio.

All players who dealt damage received 256 renown per kill, and the player who dealt the most damage, dependent on relative combat levels, received a heroic skull per kill. The skulls could only be buried within the faction tower for Prayer experience. The experience per skull increased if more than one skull is buried at once. However, heroic skulls were lost upon death when killed by another player.

Activating PvP mode doubled the renown received per action and increased experience by 33%. Actions were also performed roughly twice as fast. For example, if a player earned 5 renown and 10 Construction experience per action normally, turning PvP mode on turned this into 10 renown and ~13.3 Construction experience. While having PvP mode on allowed a player to gain renown about four times faster when building, it also decreased the amount of experience earned per renown gained. Thus, if the player was aiming to gain as much experience as possible, it was advisable that PvP mode is deactivated.

There was a cooldown period of 6 seconds upon entering the PvP areas. Combat was also scaled according to level. This meant that weak players became stronger, and strong players became weaker depending on their opponent.

Bandosian and Armadylean convoys appeared at random sites once every 20 minutes. Each faction only had one active convoy at any time. Each convoy was composed of the following, where the exact composition depended on the convoy strategy implemented and the voting choices made during the phases:

A convoy travelled from its spawn site to a destination site, stopping twice along the way. At each stop, the diviners for each convoy tried to locate divine energy stating "Seeking divine energy!" several times. After their unsuccessful attempt, the convoy moved on. Upon reaching their destination, the diviners successfully found the divine energy and started harvesting. A progress bar kept track of the capacity of the respective caravans.

An Armadylean caravan at the final node, siphoning wisps.

At this point, players could choose to help their diviners for renown and Divination experience. During phase 1, 10 renown was awarded each time an action was performed; this was doubled to 20 renown per action when PvP mode was enabled. During and after phase 2, the renown awarded was 15 and 30, respectively. Players also obtained renown for healing friendly units (with the 'Engage' option). Once the caravans were full, the convoy despawned and returned to the faction tower. However, if the convoy was attacked and killed before completely harvesting the energy, the convoy retreated to the faction towers with whatever they had harvested thus far. Players obtained sacred metal fragments as well as weapon override components, regardless of whether the convoy was successful in the harvesting or was killed in the process.

Enemy convoys were not attackable during their journey to the destination site. The convoy only became attackable when they were stationary: when they were at the intermediate sites, and finally at their destination site. The caravans could only be attacked after the bodyguards had been killed. Diviners and players could be stunned using the Disruptor Rod to delay them. If the site had a Spider Hole building, enemy ambushers could attack players and other units. Players received sacred metal fragments as well as weapon components as drops from killing the enemy units. The golem, however, could still be active at this point and did not require killing. When the caravans' health was fully depleted, they despawned and retreated. At this time players could also receive sacred metal fragments and weapon override components.

Divine crystals could be found while harvesting divine energy using the Divination skill. When deposited, they provided 750 renown, at the expense of an equal amount of energy. Only up to 1,500 renown could be earned by using divine crystals per day.

Passing events had a chance to occur at the intermediate sites of the convoy. Each event lasted 10 minutes or until the passing event was completed.

Image

Event

Details

Treasure chest

A treasure chest appears where it can be searched by 10 players for coins. The amount received by players is dependent on their skill levels. It also gives a chance for a random override part for your faction.

Golem limbs

A follower of Sliske appears and offers golem limbs to players who talk to them. If 20 players from one faction accept their offer, that faction will receive an additional 5% for each golem limb.

The Godless truce

A member of the Godless appears and asks players which faction the Godless should offer a 2-hour truce. The first faction with 20 players accepting the truce will stop Godless ambushers from attacking for 2 hours.

Tricking the Godless

A follower of Sliske appears and asks players if they want to trick the Godless into attacking the opposing faction. The first faction with 20 players accepting the deal will ensure that the Godless will attack the enemy faction. If there are no buildings within the site, or a truce is in place, the next attack will be delayed for an hour.

Wandering alchemist

A wandering alchemist offers the player a drink of a new energy potion (40 doses). Players may only drink this potion when it is offered by the alchemist. Upon drinking it, it will replenish a slight amount of the player's "Energy" (the daily limit) for the event, allowing the player to gain more renown per day.

Makeshift banner

If a convoy visits a neutral site with no buildings, they will create a makeshift banner which will last for 15 minutes.

A single energy wisp is replaced with an enriched wisp, which provides 175% of the standard gathering rate by players only.

Bodyguard armour

The convoy bodyguards receive additional armour, and will have damage dealt to them reduced by 75%.

Bodyguard dysentery

One of the convoy bodyguards contracts dysentery. This gives them disease which repeatedly hits for heavy damage resulting in the unit's death.

Godless ambush

Several Godless ambushers appear and attack the convoy bodyguards. This will not occur if a truce has been agreed with the Godless.

Poison gas

A poison gas cloud appears and deals a small amount of damage to players and NPCs from both factions. Increased damage is dealt to those closer to the centre of the gas. The gas also reduces the damage dealt by golems. The caravans themselves are not affected.

Local defenders

Local defenders appear to defend the convoy, and retaliate against players who attack the bodyguards, diviners, or the caravan itself.

Disruptor rod

Nearby players either discharge or recharge their disruptor rod by two charges. Empty rods are not recharged.

Poisoned weapons

The bodyguards protecting the convoy have their weapons poisoned. This only occurs on members worlds.

A Bandosian or Armadylean ambusher attacks a player of the opposite faction up to 3 times per day. The event occurs after at least 15 minutes of being logged in, and after the first ambush, occurs every hour or so. This can occur in any world event PvP area. When killed, they reward 100 renown (or 200 when PvP mode is on) to every player that damaged them, and they may also drop sacred metal fragments and weapon override components.

Builder apprenticeship

A master builder and a builder appears at an empty neutral site and offers players to construct a building. The first faction with 10 players to accept this offer will have a random building for their faction built at the site. This event lasts 10 minutes.

Brigand ransom

A brigand boss and a brigand appears at an empty neutral site and demands donations before they will allow the construction of a building. Players will be unable to construct any building at the site unless 300,000 coins is paid to them. They will not accept anything less than 10,000 coins or more than 50,000 coins per player, and will only accept one donation per player. This event lasts 30 minutes.

Skirmishes between the two factions occurred randomly independent of the convoys. Skirmishes lasted for 30 minutes, or until all the NPCs of one faction was killed. In a skirmish, a number of NPCs (Bandosian battle-mages and Armadylean battle-mages) spawned in particular locations within Gielinor and began attacking each other. Players were able to aid them by killing members of the opposing faction for sacred metal fragments and weapon override components. If the skirmish ended after running out of time, a stalemate was declared and neither side won. If all the NPCs on one faction were killed, the players who participated on the winning faction gained 1,250 renown.

The votes from contributing in the war could be spent on microchanges and escalations. Voting on golem construction required contribution points. Voting on army management and faction strategy does not require any spending.

Microchanges provided a boost to the faction (such as improved gathering rate and increased damage), and the chosen buff was displayed in the war HUD. Escalations increased the urgency and the difficulty of the war. When escalations were active, the rate of interference by the Godless faction increased.

The management interface was used to recruit more army (bodyguards, ambushers, and battle-mages), and to improve morale. After voting, players could claim bonus experience for any desired skill. This bonus experience was received when training the skill in which the experience was chosen. However, this bonus experience could only be gained on a members' server.

Similar to the army management, the strategy for the faction was influenced by the player through votes. This was done by using the Strategy board located on the ground floor. There were no NPCs associated with this vote.

Unlike the other votings, this vote was changed freely at any time, and as frequently as wished by the player.

Players could also use votes to construct golems for their faction. This was done by interacting with the partially completed golem on the first floor, or by talking to the Armadylean golem master or the Bandosian golem master.

Golems were custom built mechanical monsters which defended caravans and faction sites. A golem was constructed from a head, a pair of arms, a pair of legs and a body. Each of these had three options: offensive, defensive, or special. Each option determined how the golem behaved and attacked. Defensive golems teleported to any friendly convoy and followed the caravan as an extra bodyguard, attacking players, golems or other NPCs. Offensive golems teleported to any enemy convoy that was stationary and attacked that convoy starting with a golem, then the bodyguards, then the caravan.

The renown and sacred metal fragments gathered could be spent on various rewards, such as 6 components of the Warpriest armour, 4 weapon overrides, 3 emotes, 4 titles, and 3 abilities. Higher tier rewards were unlocked as the event progresses, with each tier being unlocked after a certain amount of phases, which last 5 days each. Tier 1 was unlocked automatically, Tier 2 unlocked during phase 3 (or after 10 days), and Tier 3 unlocked during phase 5 (or after 20 days).[1] Aside from a renown cost, each item in the shop required a certain faction token rank to be bought.

To buy all rewards from one faction (except those obtained by random), including abilities, players required 721,000 renown. To buy all rewards from both factions, players required a minimum of 1,164,000 renown.

Players wishing to obtain all rewards from this event considered focusing on the emotes and titles, instead of the abilities and Warpriest armour. The Warpriest armour was made available after the event as drops in the God Wars Dungeon[2], and the abilities made available as a very rare drop from defeating the General Graador and Kree'arra, God Wars Dungeon bosses for the respective factions[3].

While training Divination, players gained a buff to finding enriched memories. A chatbox notification was given, stating, "Armadyl/Bandos rewards your loyalty! You have an increased chance to find super memories for the next three minutes."

Players could disable the game messages about travelling convoys by talking to the Doomsayer or via the game settings. Within Interface Settings, players could open the "Warnings settings" menu and disable "World Event Notifications" at the bottom of the list.

There were many glitches at the Bandos's Tower, one of the glitch was that a player could get inside a stump just west of the tower, inside a rock, and inside the quartermaster and the recruiter.

The areas used of this world event banned Summoning familiars in a similar manner as the Grand Exchange; they could not be summoned inside the area, and if summoned outside, they will be hidden while inside.

There was a glitch causing multi-targeting AoE abilities, such as Chain for magic, to damage a friendly NPCs when attacking a caravan. This was fixed on 7 January2014.

There was a glitch where players lose connection when attempting to fight a skirmish if they had no energy remaining. This was fixed.

It was previously possible for ambushes to occur almost anywhere in the world, except in the Wilderness, in instances, in cutscenes, while a player was already in combat, or while a player was under half health; though there have been reports of them spawning in cutscenes and combat. In some cases, they could even spawn in areas where the player couldn't fight back, such as Tears of Guthix. This was changed on 23 December2013.

There was a glitch where players can repurpose a site during the 10-minute cooldown of a previous vote. By leaving the voting interface open past the 2 minute countdown, players could vote after the site has already been repurposed. This caused a new vote to take place. However, since the 10-minute cooldown period of the previous vote has not yet expired, only players who still have the voting interface open could vote.

There was a bug that prevented players from divining for their faction's caravans on free-to-play worlds if they had level 5 or higher Divination. This was fixed on 7 January2014.

While constructing and repairing a faction building, players equipped with a hand cannon or any kind of chinchompa could use their weapons instead of a hammer. This was likely caused by the inability for these weapons to be sheathed.

On 19 January2014, towards the end of the event, there was a glitch stopping the buildings in the event from working on some worlds, where each site belonged to neither faction.

The random event in which caravan guards get dysentery may be a reference to The Oregon Trail, a 1974 educational game which became infamous for members of your pioneering caravan suddenly dying of the infection.

There was a glitch where if a player stands on a couple squares alongside the north wall of Aggie's house in Draynor Village, the statistics interface would appear. This was fixed on 28 April2014.

The name "The Bird and the Beast" may be an allusion to the song "the bird and the worm" by "The Used", or reference to Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", or perhaps a mashup of the two.